Video game accessories have long been a staple of the gaming industry. Today, we’ve got such important add-ons as the Rock Band instrument controllers, wireless headsets and remote battery charging stations. While by no means as technologically advanced as these devices, Nintendo has a long history of releasing great game accessories. From the days of the NES and beyond, here are some of the best Nintendo accessories of all time.

Back in the days of original Nintendo, cheat codes were almost a necessity for the average eight year-old gamer. Games were tougher back then, and a lack of save options didn’t make things any easier. Enter the Game Genie -– the classic device that allowed you to instantly enter a variety of cheat codes. From extra lives and upgraded weapons to level jumping and invincibility, this was easily one of the most powerful and sought-after NES accessories.

7 SNES Score Master

Joystick pads have a fairly close relationship with old-school Nintendo consoles. When it came the Super Nintendo, the Score Master was the go-to accessory for those looking to bring some arcade action into the living room. Most commonly matched with Street Fighter II, the joystick design certainly helped pull off those down, right-down, right special moves like the Hadouken.

6 Game Boy Printer

The Game Boy Printer was one of the more interesting gimmicks to grace the portable gaming world. Compatible with such classic games as Pokemon and Link’s Awakening, the accessory allowed players to print out unique images and even stickers that directly related to the game-play. Sync it up with the Game Boy camera, and you could even print out unique photos of your own.

5 Nintendo 64 Rumble Pak

Ah yes, remember when the days of rumble motion used to be a novel idea? The N64 Rumble Pak was a near necessity for any N64 owner, even though it did little more than vibrate every time your GoldenEye 007 character got killed in multi-player mode. Still, it was quite easy to become used to the constant rumblings during game-play, and that little extra bit of immersion helped make the games just that much more enjoyable.

4 DK Bongos

Released in 2004, the Donkey Kong Bongos are essentially the grandfather of all in-home instrument controllers. Manufactured for use with the Donkey Kong game series, the bongos helped usher in the idea of rhythm-based gaming. They even came with a microphone that allowed them to identify clapping.

3 Power Pad

Before Dance Dance Revolution there was the Nintendo Power Pad. Introduced to America in 1988, this giant floor mat got the kids of the 80s onto their feet to compete in World Class Track Meet. Seriously, who doesn’t remember going up against Cheetah in the running races or jumping off the mat to increase your long-distance jump? As a testament to the staying power of the Power Pad, Nintendo recently announced that a similar accessory will be released for the Nintendo Wii.

2 Zapper Light Gun

As a pre-bundled accessory for the NES, it’s hard not to remember the orange and gray Zapper light gun. This little marvel of technology taught a whole generation of kids the joys of duck hunting. Of course, there was also Wild Gunman and Hogan’s Alley. Despite the fact that you couldn’t ever wound that maniacally laughing dog in Duck Hunt, you’ve got to admit the Light Gun was pretty darn cool.

1 Power Glove

There is no Nintendo accessory as legendary as the Power Glove. Though difficult to use, the Power Glove marked the beginning of Nintendo’s obsession with motion controls. Heavily hyped in the classic movie The Wizard, many have come to conclude that this Nintendo accessory is “so bad” it’s good.

About Jeff Wysaski...
Jeff Wysaski is a freelance humor writer based out of Los Angeles. He has written for such esteemed online sites as Manolith, COED Magazine and Pleated Jeans. When not behind his laptop, Jeff can probably be found at a comedy show, eating a sandwich or practicing his latest ribbon dancing routine.

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12.16.10 at 8:27 am

mike

How do you miss the NES Max, NES Anvantage and the Gyromite robot???

12.16.10 at 2:48 pm

The Brew

My zapper was gray, not orange

12.16.10 at 3:06 pm

yuki

zapper was originally grey and then when parents complained it looked too real (really they did haha) nintendo made them orange and grey

12.16.10 at 3:19 pm

kevin

I have have both the rumble pack and the game boy printer with the gameboy camera they all work put out of paper for the printer its pretty badass

12.16.10 at 4:17 pm

Rob

How about the dog bone NES controller? Came out in the 90's with the toploading NES system.

12.16.10 at 4:20 pm

Isaac

dog bone?

12.16.10 at 4:25 pm

Anon

How did you miss the Superscope?

12.16.10 at 5:55 pm

ARCWuLF

Just want to point out that:

-Nintendo didn't just invent the Zapper, but light guns altogether when it invented electronic skeet shooting (as a way to utilize Japan's underutilized bowling alleys).
-The Power Glove was manufactured and sold by Mattel, not Nintendo (although it was officially licensed).
-The Power Pad (or more appropriately, the games that used the Power Pad) sucked, and it's amazing that anyone was able to sell input mats again afterward.
-Rhythm-based instrumental music games in the home really started with Samba De Amigo on the Dreamcast (so ahead of its time…).

My 2 cents…

12.17.10 at 12:05 pm

Cyberlich

Um, as much as I love Nintendo, they didn't invent light guns at all. The first light gun was developed in 1968 and release as an accessory to the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972: [en.wikipedia.org]…

12.19.10 at 5:42 pm

tweak

Know what preceeded samba de amigo? guitarfreaks, drummania, and beatmania on the ps1 with beatmania being the earliest release in 1998.

12.19.10 at 6:34 pm

Joe

Uh, as far as I know, I believe the Dreamcast was before the PS1, so shouldn't Samba De Amigo come first? My bad if I'm wrong.

12.19.10 at 6:49 pm

Matt

The Dreamcast was a contemporary of the PS2, not the PS1. In fact, one of the reasons the DC died was because of the amount of people holding out for the PlayStation's second iteration.

12.19.10 at 8:06 pm

wombat

The Dreamcast came out just a bit before the PS2…………….. I would think that the fact that the Dreamcast is a lot more powerful than the PS1 would be a dead giveaway >_>

01.04.11 at 1:43 pm

Neomang

Thank god somebody pointed out the problem with the drums. Donkey Konga was a decent game, but even as far as drumming, the peripheral was far from unique, with two iterations of Taiko Drum Master preceding it. Needs more research done.

12.19.10 at 6:52 pm

Matt Lever

Personally I always wanted one of those Game Boy printers. The idea seemed fascinating to me. Unfortunately my parents were stingy, so I never got one.

12.20.10 at 9:58 pm

Brian

Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but Dreamcast had the first instrument based rhythm game…. while PS1 had controller based rhythm games before that (Parrapa The Rappa).

01.02.11 at 2:58 pm

lololol

You're mistaken, but the PS1 had instrument based rhythm games with GuitarFreaks, Drummania, and Beatmania before any other. Either way, the article is wrong to begin with.

12.21.10 at 12:29 pm

@TheAtticus

I agree on the SuperScope 6. That thing was badass to own. I had my own personal bazooka haha

01.15.11 at 9:39 am

Kmuzu

Back in the early 90's I designed two games for a company out of Arizona that made a Nintendo Modem. This facilitate head to head and they had a small network to use multiplayer. Only several hundred were produced and then Nintendo sued the company.

The last thing I heard was that Nintendo was using the modem in Japan.

01.16.11 at 10:45 am

wintercoat

Any Nintendo accessory list without the Superscope is just plain fail…

09.09.11 at 7:00 pm

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